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Leaking Power Steering Fluid from rack connection

Avalacher

Full Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2021
Messages
34
Hi everyone, I recently replaced the oil pan gasket and oil intake tube seal but in the process I had to disconnect the power steering line at the rack to make enough clearance to drop the pan in addition to dropping the differential a bit too but not entirely.

I reconnected everything so I thought and started the engine up and everything ran perfectly until I started hearing gurgling about 30 seconds later. When I looked under the truck I found power steering fluid leaking like crazy. It was almost as if I hadn't reconnected the line which I know I did.

Please see attached video of where it's leaking.

Any ideas on what I can do? I tried to find a replacement line but all I get is the fluid hoses but not these metal lines. Whenever I try and tighten it the nut seems to just not want to tighten on the threads anymore. Any help is appreciated.
 
You could have caused a very small crack in the barbed end of the fitting or most likely you either didn't get it in to seat and seal fully or you crossthreaded it.
 
I bet you didn't get the line quite set correctly before tightening the fitting. Try loosening/removing, adjusting the line and retightening. Check the seating surface when you take it off to make sure it's not marred.
 
Yeah, I am going to try again tomorrow, as you can tell in the video it was raining and extremely cold. So best to try it again tomorrow morning, and I will report back. Could be the cold and my fingers won't let me flex enough hahaha.

In the meantime, made this fun discovery yesterday when removing the pickup tube. Someone dropped what appeared to be a plastic... Ummm... Something down the engine fill tube. I thought the low oil pressure was caused by a broken or decayed oil seal, which it was brittle, but was not the real cause. At first I thought a bottle cap, but it was some kind of unidentified plastic. Wow. The things you find in a 14 year old truck that you owned for 6 months. Hahaha.

 
So I ended up getting a remanufactured rack from partsavatar. Seems that the little gasket inside the nut split and left a small piece. As I tightened it back, it cause stress on the threads at the end which is why the threads at the end are all shredded compared to the first threads on the fitting. Damn. Ah well, $298 later, could be worse I suppose. Just scared of messing with tie rods... Anyone have a good recommendation on how to replace. Watched some YouTube videos from 123 Auto, but a little odd how the approach the tie rod part.
 
Tie rods are easy. First measure them. Then with the proper tool (since you're replacing a hammer might cut it instead of the fork).

Unscrew outer from inner. Surprisingly easy.
 
You didn't have to disconnect that line to drop the pan...just remove the steering rack bolts. That will let the rack drop down just enough to remove the pan.
 
That makes so much sense and thanks for that, all those videos I watched didn't prepare me well enough. I have no idea how those guys remove without dropping anything... Doesn't make sense at all. Maybe the RWD models, but 4wd models, no way. It's not terribly hard to work on either way, and I would have done things a lot differently. But I was so happy to hear my engine purrrrrr and run so happily. The new rack arrives in two days. In the meantime, also going to replace the Autoride compressor with the Dorman unit. Excited to have a working suspension again.
 
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